A Lesson In Shipping
by Diana Prallon
Summary: It's not that Morgana endorses it, but anyone could see the little hearts above their heads.


There were many things Morgana loved about being a teacher, but it didn't mean it wasn't a trying job.

Had anyone told her, ten years before, that she would be teaching, she would have said the person was an absolute lunatic. She wasn't _made_ for this. She was not the sort of person you trusted your children with. Or adults. Unless you wanted them to hear some cold hard truths about life. She was not motherly like Gwen, or stern but patient like Lance. She was too moody, and she didn't like having a lot of people around, and she was often exasperated when people were being obnoxious or stupid.

She was allergic to stupid, really.

So, no, all factors pointed out to the idea that Morgana _shouldn't_ be a teacher. Any sort of teacher. It was just a big _no_.

Except that – she was damn good at it.

There were other things she was good at, sure, but teaching was pretty effortless. When she spoke, people listen. When she explained, they understood. When she teased, and sassed, they laughed. She had a natural presence and a way with languages that meant she was, well, a good teacher in spite of being absolutely unfit for the job.

It helped that, well, _no one_ would decide to have _Portuguese_ classes unless they really wanted to learn. The language wasn't particularly useful for most, and it was _damn hard_ , and just the sort of thing that took someone really interested to study, let alone reach the level she was teaching. She had always loved intermediate groups best, because it meant she hardly ever needed to speak English, and it almost made her feel like she was back in Rio for a moment, laying down at the beach next to Gwen, drinking hard at Lapa with Morgause.

Good times.

It had been something she enjoyed.

Until her _brother_ decided he _must_ join her class.

Arthur was almost eight whole years younger than her, and Uther's _darling_ child while she was, well, the result of a very much failed marriage he would have preferred to forget all about. He was also annoying, considered himself special and treated his ability to hit a ball and send it flying to the other side of the quad something remarkable. Not that _this_ was his dream career, no, because he had chosen the _only_ path that could make him _more_ irritating, and had decided to study Law.

Morgana liked an argument as much as the next person; if the next person was a Pendragon, that is; but the way _Arthur_ seemed to do it? It was just annoying. Everything about him was annoying. It made her regret having ever wished for a younger sibling.

Arthur had joined this particular group six months before, and it was always a bit disruptive – he spoke too much, too often, too loud. He had an opinion about everything and was always trying to show off his fluency and his pronunciation, and what-not. Morgana exerted her revenge by making fun of him more than of anyone else, and mocking him openly during class. It might have been a problem, if the whole of the group didn't find it the funniest thing ever.

It had also taken her exactly one class before she spotted a serious problem.

Now, most of the people in her group were _really_ adults. Most, being the operative word. There was one particular student of hers that was still finishing his A-Levels.

And, of course, _this_ had been the one student that had immediately caught her brother's eye.

Merlin had been studying with her for a while, and was probably past 18 now, but it didn't mean much – ten years her junior, he would probably be a child basically forever. He was a mousy thing, most of the time, who spoke little and smiled a lot. Mostly he was _charming_ , and absolutely cute, and from a completely aesthetic point of view, she could see where the allure came from.

Which didn't mean she _condoned_ her brother's infatuation with the boy.

At least, it should mean she didn't. So she tried very hard, every day, because, honestly, she was trying to be a responsible adult! Responsible adults didn't _ship_ students. Much. Or so she thought – she didn't have the heart to discuss it with her colleagues. It was far too embarrassing, considering it concerned her _brother_.

She knew, because he had made a point of saying it again and again, that he felt disconcerted with the whole fancying a younger boy thing. A school boy. Not wanting anything to happen didn't mean she _shouldn't_ have teased him, did it?

Because it had been painfully obvious, from Arthur's first class, where exactly his mind had gone. It was not that he was overtly obvious about it, but she _had_ known him all his life, and there was a glint in his eyes that could not be confused with anything else. Morgana had seen it all before, and it had been… Painful enough to watch, back then. His whole flirting with Owain, the will-they-won't-they, the now-we-can't-talk-to-each-other, and a million other bits and pieces that just made her life harder, because, of course, from all the people in the world Arthur could have chosen to fall in love with for the first time and come to terms with his sexuality, he _had_ to do it with her brother in law. It made for some interesting family meetings, that much was true, but it wasn't worth the trouble.

Anyway, _Merlin._

To be honest, she had _no idea_ what was Merlin's point in all this – she didn't even know if he fancied guys, although it seemed to be the case with the way he managed to look at Arthur from under his eyelashes, even wearing glasses. Or the way he smiled up at him. Or the fact that he _always_ go in after Arthur was already there and _always_ chose the seat next to Arthur's. Or the way that whenever she told them they would do a speaking activity, he would naturally turn towards Arthur – even if she had nominally told him he was being paired up with someone else.

And Arthur – Arthur could barely take his eyes off him for long enough to take notes when was needed. More than once, while monitoring their progress during pair activities, she had seen Arthur staring at the boy's lips. She _hadn't_ kicked him up in the shins for it, but it was a close thing. She had just tried to interrupt for a bit and sent him sharp looks that had much of the same effect. For all of five minutes, at least.

Arthur just had _a way_ to make her life harder.

So, naturally, she tried to find out a way to make _his_ life harder.

She _hadn't_ devised the whole thing herself, she could _swear_ to it. It just happened that they reached a lesson on their book that dealt with asking people out. Not in a romantic way, not necessarily, but in a friendly way. Merlin had blushed an endearing shade of red while she explained it, and it had been just _too good_ an opportunity to miss.

"Arthur" she said, with a smirk. "You and Merlin."

The look her brother shot her could have frozen a man on the spot, but, of course, she was impervious to such things. She merely smiled harder, gesturing them to get on with it and gone to see how Tristan and Isolde were doing. It was _not_ as if she was going to be hearing through the whole thing, as they used the diaries in their books to try and find a suitable date that they might – whatever they were deciding to do. She focused her attention on her other two students, but it was _hard_ not to listen to them, even without meaning to.

" _Would you like to go out with me on Tuesday?_ " Arthur asked, and she held on her wish to correct his pronunciation, and kept her eyes on Isolde's denial.

" _I'll be on the cinema with Sara. You're welcome to come, too._ "

" _Is it a date?_ " Arthur asked, raising his eyebrow, and damn it, they were _precious_. _"Because it would be a bit_ weird, _if it is."_

" _No_ " Merlin shook his head, looking up from under his eyelashes. "Not _a date_."

" _Good_ " Arthur answered, and he was clearly far too involved for a simple activity. " _Still – not Tuesday. What about Thursday?_ "

" _I can't – I have an Italian class in the evening_ " Merlin pouted. " _Wednesday?_ "

" _It's my sister's birthday"_ he answered, according to the notes in his paper, before shooting her another dark look. Morgana just grinned.

" _Friday, then – we can… Go to the cinema._ "

" _Like you're doing with Sara?_ " Arthur asked, and it was funny how he managed to sound jealous of a character in a book.

" _I've told you, it's_ not _a date. But, alright. We can… Walk on the promenade._ "

" _In the evening?_ " Arthur scoffed, and Merlin shrugged.

" _Why not?_ "

Jesus Christ, those two – if only Arthur had enough balls or less sense, they might _actually_ be on a date the following Friday, but no, he was just oblivious to it. It was a thing he did. Tristan and Isolde had already finished their activity, and were just watching the two of them, a mix of fondness and exasperation on their faces.

" _Just say yes!_ " Tristan said, interrupting it, and Morgana giggle. " _So we can_ go on! _"_

" _Yes, let's do this."_ Arthur said, smiling at Merlin – softly, privately, and Morgana shook her head at it.

"Good, boys. Now, let's talk about the verb tenses in this…"

Arthur groaned, and Merlin patted his arm, and Morgana just pretended she wasn't seeing it.

It wouldn't take long now – or so she hoped – otherwise, Tristan and Isolde (not to mention Kara, Sefa and Aglain) might end up locking the two of them in the hallway toilet, and _that_ was something she _definitely_ didn't need to deal with.


End file.
